Music will be blasting, bodies will be moving and menorahs will be blazing at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue as JDub Records brings its annual Jewltide celebration to the District. Co-sponsored by Heeb Magazine, the party will feature the music of Eastern European folk punk-rockers Golem and the hip-hop klezmer of SoCalled.

"It?s not just a show; it's a Hanukkah party," said Jacob Harris of JDub. "It's usually a mix of young and old. There are a lot of people in the Jewish community that are interested in cultural events - it doesn?t matter what their age is."

Jewltide is in its fourth year, but this is the first year that organizers decided to hold an event in D.C. It features music, holiday fellow-feeling and traditional treats such as jelly doughnuts and gelt.

Golem is an Old-World, multi-member, semi-klezmer freakout. The band, noted Harris, is fronted by "singer, accordionist and 5-foot powerhouse" Annette Ezekieland vocalist/tambourine-player Aaron Diskin.

SoCalled, also known as Josh Dolgin, is a Yiddish-rapping, accordion-playing genre-blender. His sound originated when he began digging for samples and found a treasure trove in old Jewish records. He found that the records, such as recordings from old Yiddish theater, translated well to the hip-hop sound.

"Hip-hop is all about representing who you are, your crew. I'm this little white Jewish dude living in the country. It doesn't make sense for me to rap about guns, cars and hos," said SoCalled.

Harris said all are welcome to the party: "There aren't any religious strings attached. It's kind of just a mix of tradition and new hip fun."

- by Dan Miller (Express, Dec. 21, 2006)